ikuo1000's review
3.0
This book's illustrator (Stef Choi) is different from the illustrator of the previous two books in the series that I read (Anne Wilsdorf), and I noticed the difference. Maybe I am just partial to what I started with, but I also felt that in this book's illustrations, Ruby and her family did not always look Chinese.
Also, it's been a while since I read the first two books, but I seemed to remember Ruby being more eccentric than she was in this book... I don't know if maybe she's just growing up? But if that's the case, then as a third grader, she really should have known better than to cut her friends' hair! Those kinds of antics seem more like something a kindergartener might do.
In many ways, this book was reminiscent of Ramona and Her Father as it dealt with a similar theme. I liked that this book imparted down-to-earth ideas like, "Cheap was fun. It meant using your imagination instead of your wallet. It could make something out of nothing." (Pg. 95) And, there was also a nice lesson about doing the right thing: "Finders are not keepers. Finders are helpers." (Pg. 111)
Also, it's been a while since I read the first two books, but I seemed to remember Ruby being more eccentric than she was in this book... I don't know if maybe she's just growing up? But if that's the case, then as a third grader, she really should have known better than to cut her friends' hair! Those kinds of antics seem more like something a kindergartener might do.
In many ways, this book was reminiscent of Ramona and Her Father as it dealt with a similar theme. I liked that this book imparted down-to-earth ideas like, "Cheap was fun. It meant using your imagination instead of your wallet. It could make something out of nothing." (Pg. 95) And, there was also a nice lesson about doing the right thing: "Finders are not keepers. Finders are helpers." (Pg. 111)
abigailbat's review
3.0
The best thing about starting third grade was everything... until things quickly start to fall off the track for Ruby Lu. When her dad is laid off, Ruby wants to help, but none of her money-making ideas seem to pan out. Can't Ruby do anything to help her family?
Ruby's a sprightly and well-meaning third grader and this is a story that many kids will identify with. It reminded me of an updated Ramona and her Father. The Ruby Lu series is a great choice for kids starting to read chapter books.
Ruby's a sprightly and well-meaning third grader and this is a story that many kids will identify with. It reminded me of an updated Ramona and her Father. The Ruby Lu series is a great choice for kids starting to read chapter books.
eirenophile's review
4.0
Oh YES! What a great book. I love Ruby Lu. I totally identified with her. I loved her parents. I loved her teacher. I loved her cousin Flying Duck. I laughed at her friend from LA who thought everything cost $300. I laughed at her yoga-performing dog. (I didn't like that they made her friend Panchito so insistently ornery, or that, having made the decision to have him speak in Spanish, they didn't bother think it mattered that it was incorrect in a way no native Spanish-speaker would screw up. It is a small thing in the book, but something that matters to me in thinking about books I'd want to give my hypothetical Latin@ kid.) I will definitely be trying to get my hands on more in this series.
jaelikes's review
4.0
Wrote this for class so I may as well put it here:
Third book, third grade. Big changes are in store for Ruby Lu and her incorrigible dog Elvis when her dad loses his job and her mom heads to work. Friends known as the 20th Avenue Plum Club help Ruby and her cousin Flying Duck scheme to ease their family’s financial woes. With some resourceful, if misguided, creativity and a little good karma, Ruby Lu manages to Survive Hard Times and become the Star of the Show. Look’s subtle humor and often touching prose joined by Choi’s lively and fanciful cartoon illustrations thoroughly capture the misunderstandings, raw emotions, and imagination of childhood. An expert mix of sentence complexity and of new and familiar vocabulary make Ruby Lu a comfortable challenge for newly independent readers. Comparable in quality and style to Beverly Cleary’s Ramona Quimby collection, Ruby and her friends and family bring some much needed diversity of race, class, and ability status to the genre.
Third book, third grade. Big changes are in store for Ruby Lu and her incorrigible dog Elvis when her dad loses his job and her mom heads to work. Friends known as the 20th Avenue Plum Club help Ruby and her cousin Flying Duck scheme to ease their family’s financial woes. With some resourceful, if misguided, creativity and a little good karma, Ruby Lu manages to Survive Hard Times and become the Star of the Show. Look’s subtle humor and often touching prose joined by Choi’s lively and fanciful cartoon illustrations thoroughly capture the misunderstandings, raw emotions, and imagination of childhood. An expert mix of sentence complexity and of new and familiar vocabulary make Ruby Lu a comfortable challenge for newly independent readers. Comparable in quality and style to Beverly Cleary’s Ramona Quimby collection, Ruby and her friends and family bring some much needed diversity of race, class, and ability status to the genre.
shamelesslyash's review against another edition
3.0
The writing for this one was a little off. Liked the first two but this one was just okay. Still very good story and it does talk about a parent losing a job and what comes with it. Just wasn't my favorite of the series.
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